Penick's Take
Penick's Weekend Notebook 12/8: Additional thoughts on UFC Fight Night 33, WSOF 7, and Invicta 7
Dec 8, 2013 - 11:35:43 PM Penick's Weekend Notebook 12/8: Additional thoughts on UFC Fight Night 33, WSOF 7, and Invicta 7

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

It was quite the busy weekend to kick off the month of December in MMA, and with three major events on television there's plenty to parse through. There a number of things worth touching on further from the weekend's fights, and this is what's stayed with me from UFC Fight Night 33, World Series of Fighting 7, and Invicta FC 7.

--There has been a lot of hyperbole this fall about fights which have been exciting, but just maybe not as good as they've been made out to be. In the case of Friday's Mark Hunt-Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, I feel comfortable in saying it's the best five-round heavyweight fight in UFC history, but that's also a relatively small grouping. It's a crazy fight, no question, but a lot of weight continues to be thrown upon sloppiness leading to crazy exchanges. I'm not arguing it wasn't exciting as all hell to watch, because that's absolutely what it was, but put it in context and take it for what it was. It was a grueling slug fest between two heavyweights who hit hard and who will continue to take punishment so long as they can continue swinging. That doesn't make it the "best fight ever," but in the pantheon of the heavyweight division, it's amongst the most thrilling 25 minutes you could ask for.

--I don't know that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has any more left in the tank than we thought coming into Friday's event, but that knockout win's going to give him the opportunity to prove he does. The criticism he faced into the card was valid, and beating James Te Huna doesn't erase that, but he showcased what he's still capable of with that perfectly timed counter strike. A fight with Ryan Bader next, who beat the holy hell out of Anthony Perosh and would have gotten a stoppage with a competent referee, could really be a telling matchup for both of them.

--The other performance that deserves some extra attention came from Takeya Mizugaki, who picked up his fourth straight win with a one-sided decision over Nam Phan. He's won three straight in 2013 alone, and he hadn't even scored consecutive wins since 2008. He's been in the cage against a ton of talented fighters, and he's improved his game along the way, to the point he's legitimately getting himself back up to the top end of the division. It's impressive what he's been able to do this past 13 months.

--Nick Newell continues to be fascinating to watch, and as he continues to make waves in the WSOF you can't help but think the UFC might eventually give him a shot. Fairly or not, though, the very possibility that he could get beat badly by someone in the top end of the UFC's lightweight division could mean he doesn't get that opportunity. The UFC can take a lot of hits from a PR standpoint, but an amputee athlete getting beat up in brutal fashion wouldn't sit well. Of course, the flip side of that is a fantastic human interest story of a fighter who has overcome a congenital amputation to pull off his improbable success. His ability to get submissions and to continue finding those finishes is excellent, and I hope he can eventually get an opportunity.

--Barb Honchak really impressed me last night. I have a lot of respect for Leslie Smith's fight game, and Honchak was just better in every facet in that fight. She was quicker to the punch, her combinations had her pouring out more strikes overall, and her ground game was better as well. That was an excellent performance to hold onto her title, and she deserves recognition as one of the best 125 lb. fighters in the game right now. I'm not sure if she can make 115 lbs. or not, or if she'd be as effective at 135 lbs., but she's someone who should get a shot in the UFC in the future.

--I feel awful for Miriam Nakamoto after her knee just gave out in the fourth round of her fight with Lauren Murphy. The injury happened when she was taken down the previous round, and she tried to fight on to not just give away the title in a fight she was winning. But the damage was done, and when that knee gave out in the fourth it was one of the more cringe-worthy moments in recent memory. Add to the injury the fact that she's in her mid-30s, and has previously worked back from a serious knee injury in the past, and this just doesn't bode well for her being able to bounce back either quickly or effectively.

--Though Joanne Calderwood has more of a track record in MMA and Invicta in general than Tecia Torres, based solely on Saturday's event, Torres is going to have a lot of backers to get the shot at Carla Esparza. That includes the Champ herself, who called Torres out in a fairly awkwardly executed moment. That said, I think Claudia Gadelha should keep her shot as an infection forced her out, and I'd love to see Torres-Calderwood sometime in the future.